The Trudeau government’s National Housing Strategy is a “coup,” and voters have a chance to elect an MP who will be part of implementing it, Liberal candidate Mary Jean McFall told a sparsely attended debate on affordable housing Friday afternoon.

But her only opponent present, New Democratic Party candidate Michelle Taylor, said the governing Liberals have no credibility on the housing file and the strategy is riddled with questions.

The National Housing Strategy, described by the government as a 10-year, $40-billion plan “that will strengthen the middle class, fuel our economy and give more Canadians across the country a place to call home,” was the sharpest point of contention among the candidates at the housing-themed debate held at Royal Brock Retirement Living,

Voters will choose a successor to the late MP Gord Brown in a byelection on Dec. 3.

McFall and Taylor are running against Michael Barrett of the Conservative Party, the Green Party’s Lorraine Rekmans and independent candidate John Turmel.

The latter did not attend Friday’s debate, while Rekmans was absent due to the snowstorm but submitted responses to the questions in writing, said organizer Leigh Bursey.

Barrett was unable to attend due to a personal matter, but promised to engage with the issues outlined in the debate, said Bursey.

This was the sixth debate of its kind locally, at all three levels of government. Bursey, a Brockville councillor and affordable housing advocate, most recently organized a similar debate ahead of the October municipal election.

The questions centred on issues of homelessness and affordable housing, an effort to draw attention to the issues encapsulated by the social media hashtag #Vote4Housing.

The event drew a small crowd of campaign workers and family members.

McFall cited her previous experience helping get Brockville’s Wall Street Village project off the ground. The downtown seniors’ apartment complex, the construction of which is now nearing completion, includes 30 units that are geared to income.

Taylor, meanwhile, reiterated throughout the debate that housing is a human right, stressing that only the NDP can be trusted to act effectively on the issue.

In a question about the housing strategy, McFall said the Liberal government deserves credit for acting on the problem of homelessness.

“It’s a coup in and of itself to be happening.” said McFall.

Reiterating a familiar campaign argument, McFall said flipping this riding to the Liberals would give locals an MP who would sit at the government table, allowing the local area a greater say in the housing strategy’s implementation.

Taylor was decidedly skeptical of the new strategy, saying the new federal funding is welcome, but it will not be spent until after the next federal election in 2019.

“Urgent action is needed now,” said Taylor.

The strategy includes “recycled amounts” of funding and depends on contributions from the private sector and provincial and territorial governments, she added.

“I feel that neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives have any credibility left on this issue,” Taylor later said.

In her written response, read out by Bursey, Rekmans said community-based groups will play a critical role on the ground if the housing strategy is to succeed, and those groups need more resources.

Rekmans also said the Greens favour giving one per cent of the federal GST to municipalities, which would allow local governments to apply greater resources to housing issues.

Among the other housing and homelessness related questions, the two candidates present favoured zoning changes at the local level that would permit tiny homes, a newer concept aimed at making housing more affordable.

“I love the concept of tiny homes,” said Taylor. “I think they could be an innovative solution.”

McFall similarly called the idea fascinating and innovative, adding it would also be better for the environment.

But Rekmans cited her own Indigenous cultural background in resisting the idea.

In her written response, she noted that in Indigenous cultures homes are meant to be places where entire extended families live.